title: Confidence in the future, health-related behaviour and psychological distress: results from a web-based cross-sectional study of 101 257 Finns.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of socioeconomic status and psychological stress to potential associations between confidence in the future and a wide range of health-related behaviours.
  
  
  METHODS
  Web-based cross-sectional study including an 'Electronic Health Check' at the Finnish Happiness-Flourishing Study website linked to a TV programme on happiness and depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Finnish population with access to the internet.
  
  
  METHODS
  101 257 Finns aged 18 and above (21 365 men; 79 892 women). Participants who were under the age of 18 and who did not provide information about their gender were excluded.
  
  
  METHODS
  As planned, we assessed smoking, weekly alcohol consumption and binge drinking, daily intake of fruits and vegetables and regular exercise.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with participants with low confidence in the future, those with high confidence were less likely to be daily smokers (men OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.65; women 0.57, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.61) and binge drinkers (men 0.57; 0.52 to 0.63; women 0.54; 0.50 to 0.57). Participants with high confidence in the future were more likely to exercise regularly (men OR 2.82, 95% CI 2.55 to 3.13; women 2.57, 95% CI 2.44 to 2.71) and consume vegetables (men OR 2.48, 95% CI 2.25 to 2.74; women 2.13, 95% CI 2.03 to 2.24) and fruits (men OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.86 to 2.35; women 1.83, 95% CI 1.74 to 1.93) daily. Adjustment for current psychological distress and satisfaction for income attenuated the results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having confidence in the future is strongly associated with a healthy lifestyle, as assessed by a healthy diet, physical exercise and substance abuse. Health-related interventions may benefit from tailoring interventions according to the target population's level of confidence in the future as well as their level of psychological distress.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kaisla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Joutsenniemi
authors.forename: Tommi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Härkänen
authors.forename: Maiju
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pankakoski
authors.forename: Heimo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Langinvainio
authors.forename: Antti S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mattila
authors.forename: Osmo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Saarelma
authors.forename: Jouko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lönnqvist
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mustonen
keywords: PREVENTIVE MEDICINE; PUBLIC HEALTH